Rangers FC tax debt rockets by £73m

HMRC’S TAX BILL at Rangers FC has shot up £73m according to the latest creditor report compiled by administrators from Duff & Phelps.

Paul Clark and David Whitehouse were appointed joint administrators to the business on 14 February. Rangers as a ‘club’ exists within a new company structure. The ‘old’ company is in adminstration and houses the debts, including tax owed to HMRC.

In earlier creditor reports HMRC was the second-largest creditor with a bill of about £21.4m, behind Ticketus with £26.7m. However, the latest, and final, administrator creditor report shows the taxman is owed £94.4m. No explanation was given in the report as to why the debt owed has increased.

It is also noted in the report that the validity of Ticketus’ claims has been rejected by the administrators on the advice of solicitors because there are a number of grounds on which the claim can be disputed in full.

The administrators’ remuneration comes in at about £3.2m, as explained in a previous creditor report published in August.

Their remuneration is broken down into two segments; £2.9m for their work from appointment to 29 June, in which the majority of their time was spent arranging a rescue deal (CVA); and £191,039 from 10 August to 14 September.

HMRC, as the then second largest creditor, vetoed the CVA earlier this year causing the club to enter liquidation. In order for a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to be approved, 75% of creditors by value of debt need to agree the deal.

Following the failure of the CVA the club is now following the Premier League and Football Association structure, where the assets of the ‘game’, such as player contracts, are transferred to a new club and the old club liquidated.

A creditors meeting is due to take place on 12 October where the administrators will place the company into liquidation. BDO liquidators Malcolm Cohen and James Stephen will be appointed.